2018-01-31

The Speaker: It being Wednesday, we will now have the singing of O Canada, led by the hon. member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound.
 [Members sang the national anthem] 
Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP): Mr. Speaker, I often think of this place as being a family. Regardless of political party, we are all here together and are supported by amazing people.
We had a death in the family. On January 14, we lost one of those who truly does stand on guard for us. Constable Pierre Lozier, a member of our protective service, died tragically and far too young. He was only 50. 
Pete, and he went by “Pete”, had served this place and protected parliamentarians for over 30 years. He was part of a tremendous group with esprit de corps, and it was Pete who, on October 22, 2014, unarmed, ran toward gunfire to protect us.
We lost him, and I want all of us to say to his family and those grieving his loss how much we honour and respect him and to express our gratitude to those who continue to protect us.
Status of WomenMr. Doug Eyolfson (Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I recently had the pleasure of meeting with community leaders from the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, which educates Canadians about the plight of impoverished people and supports women in their search for social and economic justice.
While we have made great strides, and this government is committed to making the involvement of women the priority in all of Canada's activities in fragile states to enable women and men around the world to have an equal voice and equal rights and to live equally in safety and security, more needs to be done.
Women play a key role in conflict prevention and resolution as well as in building and sustaining an inclusive, lasting, and fair peace. When women are better represented in parliaments, those nations are significantly less likely to resort to violence in response to a crisis. This proves that a woman's place is in the House, in the Senate, and on the executive.
Let us continue to commit to stand alongside women and organizations that strive to build a more just and peaceful world.
Hôpital Notre-Dame-de-FatimaMr. Bernard Généreux (Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, CPC): Mr. Speaker, as I said last May 10, it has been almost 56 years since I, by virtue of my birth, inaugurated a room at Hôpital Notre-Dame-de-Fatima. The hospital was built to serve the population of Kamouraska and the surrounding area. Over the past year, local residents and health care professionals working together have organized a march, a petition, and more to keep our hospital and to keep health care alive in our region.
It is important to me to celebrate this grassroots movement by repeating myself. Apparently repeating things eventually gets the message across. I strongly support this movement because, with our aging population, we are going to need all of those services and more. I am wearing a “K” with a red heart around it because I love my community, and my community includes health care. Clearly, we need to keep health care close to home. 
Jim ToveyMr. Sven Spengemann (Mississauga—Lakeshore, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, with a heavy heart, I pay tribute to my friend, Jim Tovey, who served as councillor for Mississauga's Ward 1, or “Ward Wonderful”, as he loved to call it. We lost Jim suddenly on January 15. 
Jim Tovey was pure life force. He saw our shared humanity in every person and put all his energy into everything he did. Jim also saw government as a force for good. An accomplished musician, poet, and carpenter, he entered politics to champion the arts, culture and heritage, veterans, science and technology, social justice, the environment, and the Great Lakes.
 I stand with Jim's wife, Lee, his family, colleagues at all levels of government, friends, and the residents of Ward Wonderful as we say goodbye. We miss Jim terribly, but we take comfort in knowing that his memory will inspire us for years to come. 
I will close with Jim's own words: 
  And as we sleep our spirits soar amongst the stars and run  to build new worlds in empty space, where love will be our sun. 
Pat ChefurkaMs. Irene Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I would like today to pay tribute to our sister, Pat Chefurka, a proud New Democrat, a trail-blazing feminist, and a relentless advocate for social justice. Pat died January 21.
Born in Manitoba in 1924, Pat received a bachelor of science degree from Brandon College and became the first woman to receive a master's degree in physics from Montana State College. She accepted a position teaching physics at the University of Western Ontario in 1963 and resigned in 1974 due to pay inequity, a problem then as now.
Pat became actively involved with the CCF in the 1940s and was a good friend of Tommy Douglas. Among her many accomplishments, she was the first woman president of the Ontario NDP and was a recipient of the Agnes Macphail Award.
In addition to her many worthy pursuits, Pat managed to be a mentor to countless women over the course of her life. I will miss her steely determination, her unflagging optimism, and her dedication to fighting the good fight.
Rest in power, Pat. We will take it from here.